Sports Fields Use and
Equity Status Report
Neighborhood Services and
Education Committee
June 12, 2025
Avi Yotam, Deputy Director
Shannon Heimer, Division Manager
Troy Trede, Park Manager
Joe Albayalde, Parks, Recreation and Facilities Supervisor 1 Citywide Sports Program
• City offers facilities to meet community
sporting needs:
Arcadia Ballpark, PAL, etc.
110 sports fields
104 sports courts
• Sports facilities reservation program:
77 sports fields
57 tennis courts
• Reservations allocated semi-annually for
Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons.
Ad hoc reservations accepted based on availability
2 Reservation Process
• Applications vetted for authenticity:
o resident status
o nonprofit status
o age group
• Virtual allocation meetings resolve
scheduling conflicts.
• Permits are issued, revised as needed,
and payments finalized.
3 Call to Action on Equitable
Sports Field Use
• CM Jimenez submitted request in early 2020 to
change policies for equity in sports field
reservations
• Project delayed due to COVID-19
• In 2021 to 2022, Task Force recommended:
• Reinforced residency rule
• Updated priority user types
• Online, easier processes
• Increased enforcement and accountability
for groups breaking program rules
• Staff implemented improvements that led to
better customer service and results
4 Fiscal Year Revenue
2018-2019 $1,188,989
2019-2020 (COVID-19 impacts) $776,515
2020-2021 (COVID-19 impacts) $461,899
2021-2022 $1,786,279
2022-2023 $1,819,042
2023-2024 $2,101,567
2024-2025 (Through March 2025) $2,044,193
Fiscal Results
5 Advancing Towards
Sports Field Equity
• Hired a temporary Parks, Recreation
and Facilities Supervisor to the move
needle
• Increased access through partnerships
• Using in-house talent, created
automated process for roster analysis
• Identified potential fictitious addresses
• Found 80% of users from neighborhoods
in the top half of HPI areas
• 50% of users from top 20% of HPI areas
• 20% of users from bottom half of HPI
areas
6 Community Partnerships
• San Jose Earthquakes
o Supporting camp programs that
benefit local youth and parents
• Santa Clara County Probation and
Empowering Our Community for
Success
o Supporting underserved youth
without access to sports programs
• Pickleball and tennis community
meetings & focus group
o Working to address court-sharing
challenges
7 Community Engagement
and Collaboration with
SJ4All
• In coordination with ORSE, presented to SJALL
Advisory Group on program and sought input on
how to make it more equitable
• Received recommendations on increased
outreach and increasing availability of
neighborhood leagues
• ORSE six-month retrospective shows
overwhelmingly positive feedback
“It felt really good seeing how my direct
feedback made a difference.” 8
Next Steps
Sustaining the momentum in driving equitybased change: Continuing and expanding community engagement to better understand who is and is
not served – any why. Providing greater visibility and resources to underserved organizations. Evaluating potential program or policy changes to enable greater access, including the
potential for open play programs. Evaluating the Citywide Sports Program’s Field Marshal deployment model and budget, which
is not sufficient for full coverage at fields. Standardizing Little League contracts so each group has the same benefits and obligations. Continuing to oversee and ensure compliance for joint use agreements. 9
Sports Fields Use and
Equity Status Report
Neighborhood Services and
Education Committee
June 12, 2025
Avi Yotam, Deputy Director
Shannon Heimer, Division Manager
Troy Trede, Park Manager
Joe Albayalde, Parks, Recreation and Facilities Supervisor 10